After the City Council canceled the Hacienda Landscaping contract this morning, Ottawa City Hall must find another company for the Thornton Park improvements. Mayor Dan Aussem says the work wasn’t getting done fast enough to be done by the July 26th deadline.
Owners Jose and Maria Guzman say they faced numerous delays since they ended their relationship with a labor union on May 30th. There are other companies that didn’t want to do business with them anymore, so they had to find other suppliers. The Guzmans say City Hall also repeatedly asked questions since then.
The mayor says the city requires an apprenticeship program and Hacienda pulled out of those too. He says being a union employer isn’t required. Just last week, the city approved an $8.4 million sewer relining contract with a non-union firm. It has an apprenticeship program.
Aussem wants to pay Hacienda for the part of the $518,000 contract it fulfilled. He thinks the Guzmans didn’t understand that and that caused a lot of angst.
The Guzmans also told WCMY News, they wonder if being Hispanic has something to do with the way the city’s treating them. Mayor Aussem said absolutely not.
The city has a $305,000 state grant to help pay for the work. It must be finished by August next year.
Maria Guzman